You Don't Speak My Language

You Don't Speak My Language explores the otherness of trauma, the isolation that comes with long-term neglect and suffering. When others can't relate to you, every conversation feels foreign, and the trauma can feel like a barrier, something unspeakable when you are amongst those who don't speak the language of tragedy. The award-winning poems within reflect the journey it takes to transform trauma from a non-verbal state, unspoken and silent, into a language that can be both learned for yourself and taught to others, achieving fluency and--more importantly--mastery of that which was an obstacle for so long.

CW: depersonalization/derealization, domestic violence, SA, CSA, suicide. An index of individual poems and their content warnings is provided at the back of the book.